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Prodigal Son
Prodigal Son is the seventh chapter of Volume 14. It was released on July 22, 2013. Synopsis The body count grows as the Firstborn continues to unfurl his ultimate plan. Who will he target next? Plot Caesar Haas, the Centurions, and the Firstborn are in an unmarked safe house in Hunter's Point. The Centurions are loading up on weapons and lots of gasoline. Caesar says the partnership may not be worth it, because the cops will be after them like never before, and the Firstborn reminds him that if he doesn't comply he'll go after his wife. The two glare at each other for a while, with Caesar telling the Firstborn that he shouldn't forget who he's ''dealing with, as he is the head of the SF Centurions and has killed men for less than this. Though the Firstborn is glad someone is actually showing a bit of spine to him—the first time in years—he tells Caesar that many men have wanted to kill him over the years, but none of them have succeeded. Then, after telling Caesar to get back to work, he leaves to go hunt down the killers from the Lilith File. Meanwhile, Mal and Natara are in the precinct's interrogation with Genevieve. Though at first Genevieve refuses to say anything more on account of Mal handing over the Lilith File, they eventually find out the true scope of the file—three hundred killers, all over the world. Much more than the SFPD expected. After leaving the room, Mal and Natara have a chat about how Mal handed over the Lilith File, and they agree to uphold the in law instead of letting their love for each other get in the way. They hope this decision will never be tested. Later, the two pull up outside the Pax Romana, a dive bar in the Mission district instead of going to the ''Black Betty, the Centurions' usual spot, because Blaise and Mal had a huge brawl there a while back and Mal figures they'll lay low and avoid that place for a while. Genevieve had given them a hint as to how to get closer to the Firstborn—his only sloppy (in Genevieve's opinion) work is his use of the Centurions. Mal and Natara confront Caesar Haas. They find out that the Firstborn threatened to go after Caesar's wife, and promise to put her under protective custody in exchange for information on the Firstborn. Caesar tells the detectives about how the Firstborn plans to wipe out the Mayor and the Commissioner, sometime very soon. And it’s gonna be big. At the same time, Commissioner Maria Yeong is in the grand foyer of San Francisco's City Hall standing behind Mayor Seth Holland as he addresses a crowd of reporters from behind his podium. Lietuenant Charles Anders is standing beside Maria as Seth gives his speech on the successful capture of Genevieve Collins, and starts chanting his name, with the reporters reluctantly joining. Natara calls Maria to warn them of the Centurion's attack, but as soon as she hangs up and lets Anders know, the gang arrives. They begin shooting up the place and tossing Molotov cocktails at the walls. Anders gives orders to his men as everyone tries to leave in a panic. A biker aims at Seth, but Maria tackles him to the ground and pulls him behind the cover of the podium with the bikers continuing to shoot. They peek out when the shooting dies down, but Anders warns them that there's too many and they shouldn't give away their location. Anders and Maria team up, and Anders reluctantly gives his backup firearm to Seth. The three of them pop off shots at the Centurions, who are overwhelmed and duck for cover. Seeing an opportunity, Anders, Seth, and Maria swiftly and silently make a run for the exit. Maria quietly disposes of a biker in their way by choking him out. They prepare to make their way out, but the bikers from before see them. Maria and Anders accurately shoot at the Centurions, which defeats the gang's furious assault. They exit the building and defeat a pair of bikers who have a Molotov and gasoline. City Hall is being set on fire, and there is insufficient backup because the city—including the precinct—has fallen into chaos. Maria says they need to pull back up from other departments: every officer they can spare, every ambulance, and every coroner. Genevieve Collins is being escorted to her prison cell by a SWAT team. Genevieve criticizes one of the officer's mumbling and posture, and as she is about to be put in her cell, the lights go out and shots are fired. Genevieve ducks and the lights come on again, revealing eleven officers dead or dying in a pool of blood. A twelfth officer remains, holding a rifle, unscathed. It turns out that it is the Firstborn. As he begins to pull her out, one of the inmates calls for the Firstborn. It is the Kingfisher, requesting to be let out because the Firstborn and him had a deal to release him from prison if he got the prison's data. At first, the Firstborn doesn't seem to recall, but he was just teasing and unlocks the man's door. An hour later, Genevieve's son leads her to the roof of an apartment complex high on Mount Sutro, a hill overlooking San Francisco. The Firstborn asks his mother why she didn't try to understand him when she understood her adopted children. Genevieve admits that she was afraid of him because of his pure, unadultered destruction. Firstborn says he now understands what a frightening thing he is, but if anyone would understand him, it would be his mother. Genevieve tells him she can't condone a plot to kill her children, but he tells her that his purpose in acquiring the Lilith File was to liberate the killers. He pulls out a radio and lets Genevieve listen in on the chaos in the police department, and Genevieve remarks that it is beautiful. She is moved to tears, proud of her son. But the Firstborn still has to kill her, and stabs her in the heart. She begins to fall, but he catchers her and lowers her softly to the ground, cradling her. He begins to apologize, but Genevieve stops him, knowing he cannot mean those words. She reaches up and tugs at the bandages on the Firstborn's face, wishing to see her son's face, even if that face is a lie. The bandages fall just as she fades away and she sees the face of the young Alex, her perfect darling boy. As her consciouscness slips away, Alex closes her eyes and says, "Goodbye, Mother." Bonus Scene The previous night, Kai Kalaba follows Reed Harrow as he exits a small hotel and walks on the street. Kai tries to be discreet, but when Reed turns a corner, Kai follows and sees that he is nowhere to be found. Reed suddenly appears before him. Reed tells Kai that he is following him and Kai jolts back shocked and denies that he is following him while Reed remains unamused. Kai says that it shouldn't be a problem if he has nothing to hide, with Reed telling him that, as he works black ops, everthing he does is secret. He asks Kai what this is about and Kai replies "One parachute". He says that he searched the plane for hours for any sign of other parachutes, but Reed's was the only one. He comments that it is suspicious. Reed tells Kai that he is not the Firstborn. They argue for a while, raising suspicion, and Reed asks Kai that if he turns around and walk away, will Kai have have a way to stop him? Kai says nothing and Reed walks to his car across the street, saying, "I hope you find what you're looking for, Mr. Kalaba, but I do believe we're done here," and drives away. Kai says to himself that he'll be watching Reed, and that they're not done by a longshot.